Craig, Gordon Maxwell

Gordon Maxwell Craig was born on 17 August 1897 in Ottawa, Ontario. His parents were William John Craig and Charlotte Jane Cowan. Siblings included William George (b. 1894), Mildred (b. 1902), Elnora (b. 1905) and Shirley (b. 1912). Shortly after Gordon’s birth the Craig family moved to Keewatin, Ontario where his father became the town clerk.

Gordon enlisted in Toronto on 16 February 1916, signing up with the No. 2 Army Service Corps Training Depot. He was 18 years of age and a student at the time. He listed previous service as six weeks with the Imperial Army Mechanical Transport Division. He went overseas with the 5th Draft, embarking in early March 1916 on the S.S. Scandinavian. On 22 June he was attached for duty to the King’s Canadian Red Cross Hospital, a military convalescent hospital in Bushy Park. He served there until 5 September 1917. On 6 September he was admitted to Barnwell Military Hospital in Cambridge, where he received treatment for illness (vdg) until 24 November.

In January 1918 Gordon was sent to France. After spending a month with the Canadian Army Service Corps Pool he was attached to the 1st Tunnelling Company and he served with them for five months. In July he was transferred to the Canadian Engineers Mechanical Transport Company, which was a unit in the Canadian Army Service Corps. In November the Armistice ended hostilities on the Western front but Gordon continued to serve in France and Belgium until the following spring. He returned to England in May 1919 and sailed for Canada on the S.S. Olympic on 3 June, arriving in Halifax about nine days later. His official discharge due to demobilization was on 16 June 1919 in Toronto.

When the 1921 census was taken Gordon was living back in Keewatin with his family, his occupation listed as engineer. Two years later he moved to the United States, entering at Blaine, Washington on his way to Sedro Woolley, Washington. At that time his occupation was auto mechanic.

Gordon married Nellie Ann Ricks (née Perkins) on 29 February 1924 in Santa Ana, California. Born in 1889 in Iowa, Nellie was the daughter of William Perkins and Sarah Dawson. Gordon returned to Keewatin with his wife and they lived there for several years. Gordon worked at the Lake of the Woods flour mill and in early September 1927 he was seriously injured on the job when he fell 30′ into a wheat bin. He broke both legs and injured his ankle. In 1929 Gordon and Nellie returned to California and he found work as a millwright. He applied for naturalization in 1929 and became an American citizen in 1935.

Gordon died in Boulder City, Nevada on 8 November 1963, at age 66. He is buried in Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, Los Angeles County, California. Nellie died on 21 November 1975 and she is interred with Gordon.

Gordon’s service in the First World War is commemorated on the Town of Keewatin Plaque that previously hung in the Keewatin Legion Building. His brother William George Craig also served during the war and he’s commemorated on the same plaque.

Grave marker photos courtesy of Sunny on findagrave.com.

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